Cylance

The Cylance company intends to change approach to cyber security using use of artificial intelligence and opportunities of machine learning. Specialists of the company consider what the most effective solution will use algorithms of artificial intelligence for prevention of future attacks. It is supposed that using machine learning it is possible to create the software which will analyze in real time already performed cyber attacks to have an opportunity to predict them in the future.

"Our algorithms of machine learning take large volumes of data which are too big for the full analysis specialists people, and subject them to processing to have effective solutions for fight against the similar attacks in the future" — Stewart Maklyur noted.

According to him, expansion of use of machine learning technology in the field of cyber security can become a key factor which will significantly increase efficiency of protective solutions. Besides, transfer of a set of tasks of the analysis to processing by systems under control of artificial intelligence will allow the companies to get rid of need to employ large numbers of the qualified analysts who research the happened cyber attacks today. It will allow to scale business and to exempt employees from a set of routine tasks to transfer them to the solution of more complex problems – for example, the analysis of the most advanced attacks which manage to bypass the existing security systems.

History

2018: BlackBerry was purchased by Cylance for $1.4 billion

On November 16, 2018 announced BlackBerry acquisition of Cylance for $1.4 billion. The Canadian software maker will transfer this amount from own means and will not attract the actions to payment of the transaction. At the same time unsecured awards to the staff of Cylance enter the specified amount.

In BlackBerry note that Cylance will work as independent division in the company. Cylance will continue development of the products supplied with artificial intelligence for prevention of cyber attacks to the companies.

Leadership of Cylance in the field of artificial intelligence and cyber security will be instantly added all our product portfolio, including by the solutions UEM and QNX — the CEO of BlackBerry John Chen says. — We are sure that inclusion of opportunities of Cylance in our checked advantages regarding confidentiality, security of the mobile and built-in systems will make BlackBerry Spark irreplaceable for implementation of the concept of Enterprise of Things.

Purchased BlackBerry the developer of AI software for prevention of cyber attacks in Cylance companies

Add to BlackBerry that this transaction will make the company the first producer proposing single solution for intellectual protection and control of the fixed and mobile terminal IoT-devices. Cylance technologies will be integrated with a communication framework of BlackBerry Spark.

The Business Insider edition announced that Cylance can be sold to BlackBerry some days before the official declaration of the transaction. Its sources called the amount of $1.5 billion and noted that Cylance thought of entry into the exchange.

Some analysts state concerns concerning so large purchase of BlackBerry, pointing that such transaction will lead to heavy debts and falling of sales returns of the corporate software. By the end of August, 2018 BlackBerry had $581 million in the form of money and their equivalents, and the total debt was measured by $739 million^[1]

Notes

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